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Smith Road sidewalks a go
Kandi Austin - Thu, Sep, 1, 2005
The Farragut Board of Mayor and Aldermen gave town of Farragut staff the green light to move forward with construction of a proposed sidewalk on Smith Road at the regularly scheduled meeting Thursday, Aug. 25.
The proposed sidewalk was “shelved” by the Board at its rescheduled July 18 meeting because plans for the sidewalk only allowed for a widening of Smith Road on the north side. Town engineer Darryl Smith had said the road should have a symmetrical widening and suggested the project should be done when funds are available to do the project in its entirety.
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Farragut Mayor W. Edward Ford III reopened discussion on the sidewalk at the Aug. 11 meeting because he said he had not yet seen the plans for the sidewalk and the town had paid more than $40,000 for those plans.
After Rolling Creek Drive residents asked the Board to reconsider the proposed sidewalk, saying the proposed curb and gutter would alleviate drainage problems in their yards, the Board agreed to revote on the issue at its Aug. 25 meeting.
Farragut Vice Mayor Michael Haynes asked Smith if installing a sidewalk with curb and gutter on the north side of Smith Road would alleviate some of the drainage problems.
Smith said, “… It certainly won’t hurt anything. It will help everyone, but as you get farther and farther from Smith Road, the difference that it creates is less noticeable ... .”
A 3-foot widening of Smith Road with a 5-foot sidewalk received both positive and negative comments from the public.
Roger Casteel of Hickory Woods Drive, who previously submitted a petition opposing the sidewalk to the Farragut Municipal Planning Commission, said that while he agrees with a 4-foot sidewalk instead of the proposed 5-foot sidewalk, he does “not agree with widening Smith Road. It is wide enough now for a twenty-five mile-per-hour road. … There is no reason to widen the road. We do not want a major thoroughfare along our homes that divides our community. …”
Smith Road resident Paul White, who said the proposed sidewalk will have the most impact on his property, disagreed.
White said, “I’ve heard a lot of people talk about the road not needing to be widened. That’s not true, it does need to be widened. I know we have the money to do one side, and if one side is what we get, one side is what we need.”
White added that his neighbor’s mailbox was almost “taken out” by a construction vehicle that “was not speeding,” trying to pass a van, and “nine feet is not enough room for large vehicles. In the last twenty years, vehicles have gotten larger … the road needs to be widened. I am the most impacted person in this project. My property is the one that has the slope, my property is the one that would have the most grade on the driveway, my property is the one that would have the retaining wall and possibly the handrail.
“I’ve heard a lot of people talking about this lately and they’ve been speaking for me, and they shouldn’t be. … It has become a personal issue. I have neighbors that I have known for ten years that won’t even speak to me now. …”
The Board voted unanimously, 5-0, in favor of moving forward with the proposed plans.
In unfinished business, the Board unanimously approved supplemental fees for Vaughn & Melton, Inc., the engineering company that created the plans for the Smith Road sidewalk project, to continue making plans for a symmetrical widening of Smith Road. The engineering company was already given verbal approval to begin the work after the original Smith Road sidewalk plans were shelved by the Board.
Turning to the Board’s agenda of ordinances, the Stormwater Ordinance was discussed by the Board for the first time since receiving approval from FMPC. The Board agreed by common consent to give the ordinance a first reading at either the Sept. 8 or Sept. 22 meeting, leaving the date up to the discretion of town attorney Tom Hale. Hale said he would make any suggested language changes by the Board to the ordinance before the first reading.
In Board reports, Haynes reported on the Development Review Process Evaluation Committee. (See related article on p. 1) Also, as reported by town administrator Dan Olson and Smith, Ford celebrated a birthday Monday, Aug. 22.
In other business, the Board:
• Unanimously approved a revised version of the FY2006 Work Program.
• Unanimously approved a bid of $8,747 from Farragut Lawn & Tractor for two 2005 riding lawnmowers based on staff recommendations.
• Unanimously approved a bid of $11,586.16 from Beaty Chevrolet on Parkside Drive for a 2006 2-wheel-drive pick-up truck. The Board chose to buy locally although staff recommended accepting a lower bid of $11,013.78 from Bill Heard Chevrolet in Antioch.
• Unanimously approved a bid of $48,342.10 from Reeder Chevrolet Co. for a 2006 Dump Truck w/ 1999 8500 Chevy trade-in based on staff recommendations.
• Unanimously approved a bid of $54,342.10 from Reeder Chevrolet Co. for a 2006 Dump Truck w/ 1998 7500 Chevy trade-in based on staff recommendations.
• Unanimously approved a bid of $523,898.30 from Renfro Construction Co., Inc. for contract 2006-05 resurfacing asphalt concrete streets based on staff recommendations.
• Unanimously approved a request from Len Smith at Blount Excavating, Inc. to temporarily close Evans Road for construction of roadway improvements for approximately eight weeks. Blount Excavating requested to close Evans Road at Virtue Road on the eastern end and close the roadway to thru-traffic only at McFee Road on the western end. Limited access to the cemetery will be allowed during construction as necessary.
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